Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Hsu's early years were in Zurich, Switzerland, Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia and New York, U.S. He received his B.S.A.D. in 1973 and M.Arch. in 1975 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, he also studied film and photography at the Carpenter Center, Harvard University. Hsu has resided in New York since 1979. Hsu first showed in New York at the Pat Hearn Gallery. Since 1985, Hsu has shown extensively in the US, Europe, Mexico and Asia, with works in many public and private collections. From 1988-90, Hsu lived and worked in Cologne, Germany and from 2014-16 in Shanghai.

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Hsu’s work was recently included in the 59th Venice Biennale and his first public outdoor sculptures were featured in the 58th Carnegie International. A survey exhibition of his work, Liquid Circuit, was organized by the SculptureCenter, New York (2020), where it was on view following its first iteration at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Other recent exhibitions include Blanton Museum of Art, Texas (2023), Empty Gallery, Hong Kong (2023, 2019), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2022-23), Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York (2021-22), Centre Pompidou-Metz (2022), Museum Brandhorst, Munich (2021) and the 13th Gwangju Biennale (2021), etc.